PCalc Lite vs A Complex Calc
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PCalc Lite
This free scientific calculator offers essential features like RPN mode, unit conversions, and multiple undo/redo. It provides a taste of a more powerful version, with optional in-app purchases for expanded functionality.
- Optional RPN mode
- Multiple undo and redo
- Unit conversions and constants
- Two stylish themes
- Apple Watch app
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PCalc is the powerful choice for scientists, engineers, students, programmers, or indeed anybody looking for a feature rich calculator. It includes an optional RPN mode and multi-line display, a choice of button layouts, an extensive set of unit conversions and constants, a paper tape, multiple undo and redo, engineering and scientific notation, as well as support for hexadecimal, octal, and binary calculations.PCalc Lite is a fully functional and free taste of our very popular scientific calculator. It includes an optional RPN mode, multiple undo and redo, unit conversions and constants, as well as two stylish themes and our highly praised design. A great choice for your new iPad! If you like what you see, the full version has many more settings and themes, a paper tape, engineering and scientific notation, and full support for hexadecimal, octal, and binary calculations. You can also now purchase extra features directly from inside PCalc Lite. Buy them individually, or buy everything. Includes an Apple Watch app, so you can calculate on your wrist!
A Complex Calc
Perform complex calculations with a modern, user-friendly interface. Offers both basic and scientific modes, including support for complex numbers and advanced functions. This lightweight application provides a history of computations and is completely free with no advertisements.
- Complex number support
- Basic and Scientific modes
- History of operations
- Trigonometric and hyperbolic functions
- Random number generation
- Lightweight app size
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A Complex Calc is built for fast complex-number work without losing the tools you need for serious math. Use scientific functions quickly and check floating-point results in rectangular and polar form. Reuse past results from history, work with built-in constants, and keep advanced tools close while solving everyday and technical calculations.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: A Complex Calc at none against PCalc Lite's 11. A Complex Calc also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.4) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). PCalc Lite's advantage is ratings volume (214 vs 23) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, review sentiment and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. PCalc Lite sells 11 one-off in-app purchases. A Complex Calc asks for nothing beyond the download.
A Complex Calc holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PCalc Lite has 214 ratings behind it against 23, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 83% of PCalc Lite's written reviews are positive against 80% of A Complex Calc's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
PCalc Lite ships an update every 2 months, A Complex Calc every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PCalc Lite | A Complex Calc |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (214 ratings) | 4.7 (23 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 82.6% of reviews — better | 80.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 214 — better | 23 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 10.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 76 MB | 28 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | TLA Systems Ltd. | Antonio Ruffolo |
Customer experience
PCalc Lite
A Complex Calc
Bugs and requests
PCalc Lite
Reported bugs
3 issues- Calculations sometimes produce unexpected results
- Upside-down text censorship feature is problematic
- Purchased features not always accessible on Apple Watch
Requested features
4 requests- Add option to display thousands separators
- Implement a history function to review past calculations
- Provide more customization options for the widget
- Add support for sexagesimal angle input and conversion
A Complex Calc
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
PCalc Lite
- Theme Pack$0.99
- Power User Pack$0.99
- Multiple Line Pack$0.99
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- Conversion Pack$0.99
- Small Tip$0.99
- Medium Tip$1.99
- Programmer Pack$2.99
- Engineer Pack$2.99
- Large Tip$4.99
- Complete Pack$9.99
- Enormous Tip$9.99
A Complex Calc
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is PCalc Lite free?
Is A Complex Calc free?
Which has better reviews, PCalc Lite or A Complex Calc?
Do PCalc Lite or A Complex Calc have ads?
Which is updated more often, PCalc Lite or A Complex Calc?
Other comparisons
